The innovation relates to a module for tufting tools, especially needles, in which the tufting tools are cast at one end in a plate-shaped base, the length of which is a multiple of the center distance of the cast-in tufting tools, which has one front and one rear locating face, the front locating face being fitted with a protruding locating strip at its edge (which runs in a longitudinal direction out of the base in the area of the tufting tools outlet), and which has a continuous opening between the front and the rear locating face.
Such a module for a tufting machine is known in the art from EP 0 446 215. In this known module the base has a locating strip on its front side which when fitted rests against a needle bar or a part of it, enabling precise alignment of the module relative to the needle bar. This needle module can thus only be fixed in one orientation to the needle bar. The tufting tools contained in such a module can accordingly also only be used in one rotational position to the bar. Thus if it is necessary to use the tufting tools in another rotational position relative to the bar shifted through 180.degree., then it is necessary to use modules in which the rotational position of the needles is altered accordingly. Two types of modules then have to be kept available in which the rotational positions of the tufting tools are 180.degree. opposed to each other. This requires various modules to be kept available, and is consequently costly.
Each base is then provided with an opening in the form of a continuous hole through which a bolt can be passed to fix the module to the bar or suchlike. The use of such a module and its removal requires that the bolt is first completely removed from the hole for this purpose.